Bottle stopper



A. A. RHEUDE BOTTLE STOPPER May 16, 1950 Filed Jan. 18, 1949 INVENTOR.Andrew A. Rheude Patented May 16, 1950 UNITED STATES TENT orFics 1Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in bottle stoppers.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a bottle stopperfor use in bottles containing carbonated beverages and the like, wherebythe bottle may be sealed after opening and before the contents of thebottle have been entirely used.

A further object is to provide a bottle stopper which will beautomatically locked to the neck of the bottle so as to prevent the samefrom being blown out of the bottle from pressure within the bottle.

A further object is to produce a bottle stopper which is easy to use,economical to manufacture, and one which conforms with the standardpractice of inserting and removing a stopper from a bottle.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of thefollowing description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and inwhich like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout thesame,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my stopper,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my stopper, taken at an angle of 90 fromthat shown in Fig. 1, and showing the stopper during the act ofinserting the same in the bottle, and

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the stopper in expanded position andgripping the bead of the bottle neck.

The ordinary expansible type of bottle stopper. consists of a plungerelement and a plug element, whereby, when the plug element is elongatedthrough the pressing of the plunger, the same may be inserted in abottle and when released, the plug expands so as to effect a stopperwithin the bottle. This type of stopper depends entirely upon itsfriction to the sides of the bottle to remain within the bottle.Therefore, if excessive pressure is created within the bottle, as oftenoccurs when the bottle contains a carbonated or eiiervescent liquid, thestopper will blow out of the bottle, thus relieving the gases, andoftentimes the entire contents of the bottle will be expelled therefrom.

Applicant has, therefore, devised a stopper of this character with acombined gripping clamp which has hooks that engage the outer surface ofthe bottle in such a manner that they come to rest against the beadformed about the top of the bottle, thus locking the stopper to thebottle.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein, for the purpose ofillustration, is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, thenumeral 5 designates a hollow rubber plug or stopper, into which extendsa pusher rod 6, having a thumb piece 1.

Finger pieces 8 and 9, are secured to the top of the plug 5, so thatdownward pressure upon the thumb piece I and upward pressure on thefinger pieces 8 and S, will cause the plug 5, to be elongated, as shownin Fig. 2.

The construction thus far described is that of the ordinary stopperwhich is often expelled from the bottle through excess pressuredeveloping therein.

My improvement consists in forming integral with the finger pieces 8 andQ, and their connection to the plug 5, a pair of diverging side piecesII and I2, which act as cams, as will be herein after noted.

Attached to the thumb piece 1, are spring members l3 and it, which havetheir free ends passing downwardly through the plate i i, to which thefingers 8 and 9 are attached, and have their lower ends terminating inhooks, as shown at ll and E8.

The result of this construction is that, when the parts are in theposition shown in Fig. 2, the hooked ends ll and it, will be spreadapart so that, as the plug is inserted in the neck of the bottle, thehooks will straddle the neck of the bottle and then, upon release of thethumb piece and finger pieces, the plug 5, in contracting, will forcethe pusher rod 6, upwardly, thus causing the ends of the spring membersto be forced inwardly against the under-side of the bead A of the bottleB, as shown in Fig. 3. This will eiiectively lock the stopper as awhole, to the bottle in such a manner that the plug cannot blow out andcan only be removed by releasing the same, as above described.

It will thus be seen that I have devised a bottle stopper which willaccomplish all the objects above set forth.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and thatvarious changes relative to the material, size, shape and arrangement ofparts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of theinvention or the scope of the subjoined claim,

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A bottle stopper comprising a hollow resilient rubber stopper capable ofbeing elongated, a pair of rigid finger pieces secured to the top ofsaid stopper, a pusher rod extending into said stopper, whereby saidstopper may be elongated, a thumb piece carried by said pusher rod, apair of spring 3 members secured to said thumb piece and extendingdownwardly, the ends of said spring members terminating in hooked endsadapted to engage the head of the neck of a bottle and a pair ofdiverging side pieces formed integral with said finger pieces andoverlying the hooked ends of said spring members, said diverging piecesacting as cams to contract said spring members against the bottle neckwhen said stopper is in retracted position.

ANDREW A. RHEUDE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number Number 4 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Spriegel Aug. 15, 1893Kilbourn Sept. 5, 1899 Noble Dec. 1, 1931 Magnuson Nov. 19, 1935Krasberg July 6, 1948 Murdock Aug. 10, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Country DateGreat Britain Mar. 29, 1892 Germany Apr. 2, 1907

